Missouri Representative, 135th District: Syd Smith

Syd Smith, Democrat

Smith is a retired Presbyterian minister who works as a mortgage loan officer at Affordable Lending.

What is your plan to get the state budget back in line?

"I would like to prevail upon the administration and legislative leadership to appoint a blue-ribbon panel to go back and examine how we get our money, how we proportion it, and how we spend it."

Smith would favor reworking parts of the Hancock Amendment, and he would like to see tax exemptions for nonprofit agencies examined.

Regarding transportation, the people clearly voted no on Proposition B, Smith said. "I don't think the legislature can be justified in taking money from anywhere else to put on roads once the people spoke like that." The state should continue projects already slated, he added.

He favors light-rail, high-speed vehicles like commuter trains as one way of addressing mass transportation problems.

On education, Smith said the state has to make do with the funds it already has set aside for such purposes.

What is your position on workers' compensation reform?

"I think we need to be careful in rewriting or restructuring workers' compensation so that we do not take its purpose away. ... we need to be careful what we throw out."

An organization other than an insurance company should be setting the premium rates employers pay, Smith said.

by Paul Schreiber

SBJ Reporter